Suns center Deandre Ayton walked off the court, hand on one hip, breathing hard. He was done for the second quarter, finally getting a break from Steven Adams, the Thunder center who had shut down the rookie's scoring since subbing on with just over six minutes left in the first half.
The Thunder's 118-101 win over the Suns at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Monday was the first time Ayton had gone up against Adams — Adams was out with calf tightness the last time the Thunder faced the Suns.
The veteran took advantage of the matchup to drop a message-sending 14 points in the first half, while Ayton went 2-of-6 from the floor before the intermission.